One noticeable shift in the CCSS is a repeat mention of media. Students should be able to understand and analyze not just print sources, but media sources, too. This makes sense when one looks at the world--we're surrounded by media influence all the time. If we do not think about our media analytically, we can fall prey to persuasion and misconception. Including media, like televised speeches and, as I've done in other lessons, visual advertisement, helps students realize that everything is a text to be "read," not just print materials.

Media Matters

Standards Alignment: Media Matters

A Speech with Purpose: "I Have a Dream"

A Speech with Purpose: "I Have a Dream"

Unit 6: Purpose Across Multiple Texts
Lesson 6 of 17

Objective: SWBAT analyze a text for purpose, including rhetoric and style, by viewing and analyzing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

I explain that rather than reading "I Have a Dream," we will view footage of the speech. Students may take notes on what they believe to be central ideas as we view.

After viewing, I ask, what are the central ideas? How do we know?

Students note that the dream is for equality for all men, as evidenced by the repetition of the "I have a dream..." phrases. Another key idea is that the current government, especially in southern states (most notably Alabama), is not just, which leads to the need for equality. There is, they observe, A LOT of emotional appeal in both the content (sad stories) and the tone used to deliver the speech. We're moving into our analysis for the day, so I segue us into practice.

We transition to analysis for purpose with some general observations from our first practice: use specific proof from the text to support their responses, make sure the purpose statement includes an action, and fully address every question (consider both content in style in evaluation, for example).

Then, I pass out the purpose analysis questions and give students the remainder of the hour to work. Since this is our second practice (and the first practice showed accuracy in responses despite a lack of text proof), I ask students to work independently so that I can assess their individual skill level rather than a group skill level.